Pages

Saturday, 29 October 2011

I've recently returned from 3 days in Munich, having been asked byThe Goetz Collection, an internationally renowned, private collection of contemporary art, to assemble Mona Hatoum'sHot Spot for an exhibition of her work beginning in November. The collection is owned and continuely added to by, the former gallery dealer, Ingvild Goetz who presents the collection to the public in a series of themed exhibitions in a purpose built museum, designed by the Swiss architectural firm of Herzog and de Meuron in 1993.

Peter Head, neon fitter extrodinaire, working somewhere in the Philippines

Originally commissioned in 2009 for an exhibition in the Fondazione Querini Stampalia at the Venice Biennale, the piece comprises 48 sections of 8mm clear tubing filled with neon gas. Each piece was initially bent in two dimensions,using a full size drawing as a template and was then bent again into three dimensions to fit the curvature of the globe.

The tubing is lit by 10 transformers producing 95000 volts and running at 18m/A. The tubing is attached to the frame with nylon fishing twine and is cushioned on a bed of silicon sleeves. The H.T.cables drop straight down from the electrodes to the transformers housed in the base.

Mona Hatoum's Undercurrent

The exhibition also includes the work “Undercurrent”, a beautiful and intricate mixed media extravaganza comprised of cloth covered electric cable, lightbulbs and a dimmer device allowing the lightbulbs to "breathe" . Other pieces include several of Mona's early video installations as well as "Paravent" or "Grater Divide" and "Slicer".

Sunday, 16 October 2011

The Festival of Lights is one of the largest illumination festivals in the world. Every year for twelve days in October, Berlin’s world-famous landmarks and monuments are dressed in spectacular light. German and international artists and lighting designers present extraordinary illuminations, light art and creative designs. The festival is accompanied by numerous cultural events, all exploring the theme “Light”. The festival is an admission-free, top artistic event for an audience of millions. It generates massive media interest worldwide, and as a result, promises real sustainability.

The constant struggle with concepts of space, sculptures and installations as well as the engagement of mysticism and primal religions led the Austrian artist to create “timeguards“. The first timeguard was built in 2007 and is reminiscent of a withdrawn monk. Kielnhofer likes to present his sculptures at exciting locations. They appear and disappear. You can never anticipate where they will show up next time, reminding us that we are never unobserved. Every one of our actions is seen by the guards and evaluated. They were already in existence a long time before humans populated the earth.

8mm White HP20 and Pink G2 tubing with right angled electrodes. All three sections of glass were broken on this piece and had to be completely remade. The pink tubing was hand coated due to a shortage of pre-coated 8mm tubing in this country, while the white tubing was left over from one of the last glass deliveries from the mighty Masonllite. Turned out really well I thought.

Spare a thought for the humble neon aircraft obstruction beacon. As seen on many a tall building, mast or crane the 12mm diameter coiled neon tube is not much larger than a modern domestic CFL bulb (compact fluorescent light) but thankfully produces enough light to warn off planes from some considerable distance.

Many of these bulbs were originally produced in the Oldham Claudgen factory in Wembley during the 1980's and early 1990's. Using a process known as electric bending, clear glass tubing was placed inside a metal braided sheath, which in turn was heated by passing an electrical current through it. Once the correct glass temperature was reached, the glass being maliable enough to bend, the whole thing was quickly wound onto a spiral former, where it would be annealed over a short period of time before being removed to be electroded and pumped.

The tubes were electroded using large shelled electrodes (120m/A plus) and neon resevoirs were added to enable the tubes to be run on a higher milliampage for a longer period of time.

Sadly now being replaced by the LED, this one war repaired by myself a while ago, a thing of beauty, now rarely seen.

Tuesday, 1 February 2011

Here are some more photographs of the Dan Attoe neon's that I installed last week for The Shape We're In exhibition, organised and curated by the Zabludowicz Collection, at 56-58 Leather Lane, London EC1N.

Across the country, local councils, with help from landlords, artists and community arts projects have been using empty shops and office spaces as temporary exhibition space for a wide variety art works and arts projects. A Camden Council-led initiative currently encourages the occupation of unused properties in the borough, to act as a revitalising presence in economically depressed areas of the city.

Initially funded by grants from The Arts Council of England as a response to the effect of the recession on the arts, Art in Empty Spaces has already transformed many empty and disused retail spaces across the whole of the U.K. into a variety of creative spaces from pop up galleries to theatre and music venues. The funding was intended to enable artists to connect their work with a wider audience of people in new and imaginative ways.

Although funding from the Arts Council has now stopped they have set the wheels in motion and the role the arts can play in economic regeneration can already be seen across the country, where the innovative use of empty shops is already helping to prevent high street decline. To see the effects for yourself visit Leather Lane, London EC1N and remember "You have more freedom than you're using".

Thursday, 27 January 2011

On Wendesday, I had the pleasure of installing two neon art works by Dan Attoe and another one by Tracey Emin, in two seperate empty shop spaces located within the borough of Camden in London for The Shape We're In (Camden), curated by Elizabeth Neilson and Ellen Mara De Wachter. The two Dan Attoe pieces have been installed at 56-58 Leather Lane, London EC1N. Here are a few photographs to wet your appetite.

The Shape We’re In, is a series of three exhibitions focussing on recent sculpture and installation by 22 emerging and established contemporary artists, including some of the most original artists making work today, organised and presented by The Zabludowicz Collection. Of the 22 artists, ten have been commissioned by the Zabludowicz Collection to make new works for the exhibition.

Tracey Emin's I Kiss You can be seen at 46 Malden Road, London NW5

The three neon pieces will be on display from 10.00am-10.00pm, 7 days a week for the next 8 weeks, 28th. January- 14th. March 2011

Monday, 17 January 2011

If you're struggling to find the perfect Valentine's Day gift for your loved one look no further, say it with a neon heart. Unlike cut flowers neon can have a life span of between 50,000 - 100,000 hours and although possibly more expensive as an initial outlay this is a bespoke, handmade gift that should last for many years to come.

I've just finished a new neon sign to adorn the window of my studio/workshop. The "Neon" is made from 10mm clear glass with 30mA electrodes filled with neon gas while the "Enjoy" is made from 12mm snow white glass with 30mA electrodes filled with a neon/argon mix (blue gas). Due to a lack of space between the window and the security bars the neon has been hung from nickel wire, soon to be replaced with fishing twine. I can see a soft drinks company liking the type face, I'm sure it won't be long before you see it everywhere.

Wednesday, 5 January 2011

This unusual effect has been created using the parabolic reflector from a 1960's Sofono electric fire with a spiral of 10mm blue and orange neon sitting in the center where the original heating element sat. Any movement infront of the reflector causes an infinite variety of shapes and patterns.